Latest / Marketing Automation with Fexingo: HubSpot, Marketo, and Automated Customer Journeys / Why Marketing Automation Ignores Customer Language Shifts
Transcript
- Lucas: Luna, quick question — when was the last time your email marketing platform asked what language you prefer? Luna: Uh, never, I think. I mean, I set it once when I signed up for something, and that was it. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the problem. Most marketing automation workflows treat language as a static field — you pick it at sign-up, and the system assumes it's set in stone forever. Luna: But people move. People's circumstances change. I've got a friend who moved from Berlin to Madrid, and suddenly all his German-brand emails feel irrelevant. Lucas: Right. That's exactly the scenario I want to dig into. There's a 2025 study from Common Sense Advisory — they found that 76 percent of online shoppers prefer to buy in their native language. But the key insight is that preference can shift. Luna: Shift how? Like, if you move to a new country, do you actually want to switch languages in your inbox? Lucas: It depends. Some people hold onto their native language for years. Others, especially younger consumers, switch faster. But the point is — the automation never asks. It just keeps sending in whatever language you chose in 2021. Luna: So you're saying there's a whole segment of customers getting the wrong language, and we don't even know it? Lucas: Exactly. Let me give you a concrete example. A German expat — let's call him Markus — moved to Tokyo for work. He loved a German outdoor gear brand, signed up for their newsletter in German. Two years later, he's in Tokyo, his Japanese is decent, and he starts ignoring the German emails because they feel out of context. Luna: So the brand is literally losing his attention because they never checked if his language preference changed. Lucas: Precisely. And this isn't a tiny niche. With global mobility rising — think digital nomads, remote workers, expats — there are millions of consumers whose language context shifts. Most marketing automation platforms have no trigger for that. Luna: What would a trigger look like? I mean, can the system detect a language shift? Lucas: It can, if you build it. A travel company I looked at — let's call them Wanderly — they use geolocation data combined with browser language settings. If a customer's IP address changes country and their browser language switches, they flag that account for a language re-assessment. Luna: And then what? Do they send an email asking 'which language do you prefer now'? Lucas: Exactly that. They run a re-engagement campaign every six months for anyone flagged. It's a simple one-click preference center update. They saw click-through rates improve by 22 percent on those re-engaged segments. Luna: Twenty-two percent? That's huge for a single workflow tweak. Lucas: It is. And the cost is negligible — it's just a logic branch in your automation. The hard part is getting the CRM to treat language as a dynamic field rather than a static one. Most platforms — HubSpot, Marketo, you name it — they default to treating language like a birthday. You enter it once and forget it. Luna: But birthdays don't change. Language preference does. So the platform architecture is basically built for a world that doesn't exist anymore. Lucas: That's a great way to put it. The architecture assumes stability, but the customer is in flux. And it's not just language — it's time zone, it's currency, it's cultural context. But language is the easiest win because the data signals are already there. Luna: What signals specifically? Besides IP and browser settings. Lucas: Device language is a big one. If someone's phone is set to French but their account is in English, that's a flag. Also, engagement patterns — if they stop opening emails in one language but start clicking links in another, that's a behavioral signal. Luna: So you could build a workflow that automatically reassigns language preference based on behavior? Without even asking? Lucas: You could, but I'd be careful. You don't want to override someone's preference without consent. Better to use those signals to trigger a gentle nudge — 'Hey, noticed you're reading our Spanish content. Would you like to switch your email language?' Luna: That feels respectful. And it's a tiny interaction that could save a customer relationship. Lucas: Exactly. One of the biggest sources of churn is irrelevance. If your emails feel like they're for a different person — because you've moved, changed jobs, whatever — you unsubscribe. Language is just one dimension, but it's a powerful one. Luna: Are there any platforms that do this well out of the box? Lucas: Not really. Some enterprise CRM systems allow custom fields that can trigger workflows, but it's not a standard feature. Most of the time, you have to build it yourself with a bit of custom code or a third-party integration. Luna: So it's a gap. A clear opportunity for marketers who are paying attention. Lucas: Absolutely. And the beauty is, it's not expensive. It's a logic update. If you're using something like HubSpot, you can create a custom property for 'language last confirmed' and set a recurring workflow to check it every 180 days. Luna: And if the customer doesn't respond, do you keep them in their original language? Lucas: That's the safest default. But you can also use a fallback — if their IP is in a French-speaking region, you could send a French version as an A/B test. See if engagement improves. Luna: I like that. Low risk, high potential upside. Lucas: Right. And it applies beyond language. You could use the same logic for currency, for content preferences, for any attribute that might shift over time. The core principle is: don't assume the customer is the same person they were at sign-up. Luna: That's a good mantra for all of marketing automation, honestly. Lucas: It really is. And speaking of assumptions — if these conversations about automation and customer context have sparked something you've actually used at work, or just found interesting, listener support is what keeps this show independent and ad-free. Luna: Yeah, it's a small way to say this content matters. And it genuinely helps us keep diving into these overlooked corners of marketing tech. Lucas: So if you're inclined, you can find us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure at all — just a quiet option for those who find value here. Luna: And now back to that German expat in Tokyo. Did the outdoor brand ever win him back? Lucas: They did not. He eventually unsubscribed. But a competitor who had a language preference check — a Swiss brand — picked him up within weeks. Luna: Ouch. So the cost of ignoring language shifts is real customer loss. Lucas: Exactly. And it's preventable. So here's my takeaway for anyone listening: audit your language fields. Are they static? If so, add a workflow that prompts an update every six to twelve months. Use behavioral and geolocation signals to trigger the ask. It's a small change that can have an outsized impact on global engagement. Luna: And if you're not serving a global audience yet, this might be a reason to start thinking about one. Because the infrastructure is already there. Lucas: Right. Until next time, keep questioning your defaults.